R.I.P. composer Marvin Hamlisch.
R.I.P. composer Marvin Hamlisch.
R.I.P. composer Marvin Hamlisch.
Author: Robert Zimmerman
R.I.P. composer Marvin Hamlisch.
On the air
For those interested, tonight’s appearance on the John Batchelor Show has been extended to two segments, from 11 to 11:30 pm (Eastern). We will be talking about space and climate science.
For those interested, tonight’s appearance on the John Batchelor Show has been extended to two segments, from 11 to 11:30 pm (Eastern). We will be talking about space and climate science.
The Sun continues to fizzle
Yesterday NOAA posted its monthly update of the ongoing sunspot cycle of the Sun. You can see this latest graph, covering the month of July, below the fold.
As we have seen now for almost four years, the Sun continues to under-perform the predictions of solar scientists when it comes to the number of sunspots it is producing. In fact, that the sunspot number did not rise in July is surprising, as July had appeared to be a very active month for sunspots, with some of the strongest solar flares and coronal mass ejections seen in years. Instead, the number declined ever so slightly.
» Read more
A Nigerian Muslim terrorist group is demanding that nation’s Christian President convert to Islam in order to stop the terrorist attacks.
Islamic tolerance: A Nigerian Muslim terrorist group has said it will stop its terrorists attacks if that nation’s Christian President converts to Islam.
How nice of them.
Islamic tolerance: A Nigerian Muslim terrorist group has said it will stop its terrorists attacks if that nation’s Christian President converts to Islam.
How nice of them.
New evidence suggests that Al Frankel (D-Minnesota) won his senate seat almost certainly due to voter fraud.
New evidence suggests that Al Franken (D-Minnesota) won his senate seat almost certainly due to voter fraud.
That fraud included over a thousand illegal votes by felons, who I suppose are a major Democratic constituency. How dare Republicans attempt to suppress their vote? Anyone who would must be a raaacist!
New evidence suggests that Al Franken (D-Minnesota) won his senate seat almost certainly due to voter fraud.
That fraud included over a thousand illegal votes by felons, who I suppose are a major Democratic constituency. How dare Republicans attempt to suppress their vote? Anyone who would must be a raaacist!
“Washington may have the healthiest economy of any major metropolitan area in the country.”
I wonder why? “Washington [DC] may have the healthiest economy of any major metropolitan area in the country.”
The New York Times article has one explanation:
The main lesson the rest of the country should take from the capital’s prosperity is, per Leonhardt, that “education matters.” D.C.’s “high-skill” economy boasts more college degrees than any other major metropolitan area in America. “If you wanted to imagine what the economy might look like if the country were much better educated,” Leonhardt writes, “you can look at Washington.”
The fact that the federal government is spending trillions of dollars, mostly in Washington, DC, is apparently only a side show to this New York Times reporter.
I wonder why? “Washington [DC] may have the healthiest economy of any major metropolitan area in the country.”
The New York Times article has one explanation:
The main lesson the rest of the country should take from the capital’s prosperity is, per Leonhardt, that “education matters.” D.C.’s “high-skill” economy boasts more college degrees than any other major metropolitan area in America. “If you wanted to imagine what the economy might look like if the country were much better educated,” Leonhardt writes, “you can look at Washington.”
The fact that the federal government is spending trillions of dollars, mostly in Washington, DC, is apparently only a side show to this New York Times reporter.
An Obama-backed Muslim Group is now blaming Congresswoman Michell Bachmann for Sikh shooting this past weekend.
The civility of the left and Islam team up! An Obama-backed Muslim Group is now blaming Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota) for the Sikh shooting this past weekend.
What did Bachmann do? She raised questions the Obama administration’s links with Islamic terrorists groups. And of course, that must obviously explain why a white-supremacist went on a rampage killing innocent Sikh worshipers in Wisconsin.
The civility of the left and Islam team up! An Obama-backed Muslim Group is now blaming Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota) for the Sikh shooting this past weekend.
What did Bachmann do? She raised questions the Obama administration’s links with Islamic terrorists groups. And of course, that must obviously explain why a white-supremacist went on a rampage killing innocent Sikh worshipers in Wisconsin.
The first science images from Curiosity, including nearby Mt. Sharp.
The first science images from Curiosity, including nearby Mt. Sharp. More here.
The first science images from Curiosity, including nearby Mt. Sharp. More here.
SpaceShipTwo has resumed glide tests.
The competition heats up: SpaceShipTwo has resumed glide tests.
Not only was there a test last week, one is expected today. The results will be posted here.
The competition heats up: SpaceShipTwo has resumed glide tests.
Not only was there a test last week, one is expected today. The results will be posted here.
R.I.P. Astronomer Bernard Lowell.
R.I.P. Astronomer Bernard Lowell.
R.I.P. Astronomer Bernard Lowell.
A Russian Proton rocket has failed to put two satellites into their proper orbit.
A Russian Proton rocket has failed to put two satellites into their proper orbit.
This failure of one of Russia’s more reliable rockets comes at a very bad time, as the competition with SpaceX and other competitors for commercial launches is right now heating up. As the article notes,
Moscow, which carries out 40 percent of global space launches, is struggling to restore confidence in its industry after a string of mishaps last year, including the failure of a mission to return samples from the Martian moon Phobos and the loss of a $265-million communications satellite. …
“The last failures to a certain extent undermine Russia’s position as a country that provides space launch services,” said industry expert Yuri Karash, a member of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics.
Such mistakes strengthen Russia’s competitors, such as Europe’s Arian rockets, Karash said, describing Russia’s space industry, struggling to recover after a generation of brain drain and crimped budgets, as “not in the best condition by a long shot.”
A Russian Proton rocket has failed to put two satellites into their proper orbit.
This failure of one of Russia’s more reliable rockets comes at a very bad time, as the competition with SpaceX and other competitors for commercial launches is right now heating up. As the article notes,
Moscow, which carries out 40 percent of global space launches, is struggling to restore confidence in its industry after a string of mishaps last year, including the failure of a mission to return samples from the Martian moon Phobos and the loss of a $265-million communications satellite. …
“The last failures to a certain extent undermine Russia’s position as a country that provides space launch services,” said industry expert Yuri Karash, a member of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics.
Such mistakes strengthen Russia’s competitors, such as Europe’s Arian rockets, Karash said, describing Russia’s space industry, struggling to recover after a generation of brain drain and crimped budgets, as “not in the best condition by a long shot.”
The Muslim leader who was heading an “Tolerance in Islam” conference in Turkey was attacked by one of the attendees.
Islamic good will: The Muslim leader who was heading an “Tolerance in Islam” conference was attacked by one of the attendees. With video of the attack.
In response to the attack, Morou [sic] said, “I am fine now, the damage is moral… We are here to speak about tolerance, but those people are ignorant of true Islam. I don’t know what his [the attacker’s] political orientation is, and regardless, this is not part of Islam.”
And in what part of Islam do we not see this kind of violence and intolerance?
Islamic good will: The Muslim leader who was heading an “Tolerance in Islam” conference was attacked by one of the attendees. With video of the attack.
In response to the attack, Morou [sic] said, “I am fine now, the damage is moral… We are here to speak about tolerance, but those people are ignorant of true Islam. I don’t know what his [the attacker’s] political orientation is, and regardless, this is not part of Islam.”
And in what part of Islam do we not see this kind of violence and intolerance?
Eagles – Hotel California – New Zealand (Live 1995)
“I hope that someone someday shoot your whole familly”
Leftwing civility: “I hope that someone someday shoot your whole familly” More such comments at the link.
The irony here is that these comments come from people who oppose hunting and the shooting of animals. Yet, these same people find nothing wrong with the idea of shooting a human being with whom they disagree.
Leftwing civility: “I hope that someone someday shoot your whole familly” More such comments at the link.
The irony here is that these comments come from people who oppose hunting and the shooting of animals. Yet, these same people find nothing wrong with the idea of shooting a human being with whom they disagree.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter last night captured a spectacular image of Curiosity descending by parachute to the surface of Mars.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter last night captured a spectacular image of Curiosity descending by parachute to the surface of Mars.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter last night captured a spectacular image of Curiosity descending by parachute to the surface of Mars.
Gibson Guitars has struck a deal with the federal government to avoid prosecution for the use of banned wood.
Extortion does work! Gibson Guitars has struck a deal with the federal government to avoid prosecution for the use of banned wood.
The company will pay a $300,000 fine under a criminal enforcement agreement that defers prosecution for criminal violations of the Lacey Act. Another $50,000 fine will go to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation “to be used to promote the conservation, identification and propagation of protected tree species used in the musical instrument industry and the forests where those species are found.”
Notice the political payoff to an outside environmental group. How nice. I wish my cause could get funding this way, by having the U.S. government threaten companies I don’t like and force them to give me money.
Extortion does work! Gibson Guitars has struck a deal with the federal government to avoid prosecution for the use of banned wood.
The company will pay a $300,000 fine under a criminal enforcement agreement that defers prosecution for criminal violations of the Lacey Act. Another $50,000 fine will go to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation “to be used to promote the conservation, identification and propagation of protected tree species used in the musical instrument industry and the forests where those species are found.”
Notice the political payoff to an outside environmental group. How nice. I wish my cause could get funding this way, by having the U.S. government threaten companies I don’t like and force them to give me money.
First high resolution image from Curiosity
The first high resolution image from Curiosity.
This image isn’t that different from the first two, showing one of the rover’s wheels and the horizon. This camera is for guiding the rover’s movement and is not one of the cameras that will used for science. Nonetheless, it reconfirms that Curiosity is functioning as expected.
The first high resolution image from Curiosity.
This image isn’t that different from the first two, showing one of the rover’s wheels and the horizon. This camera is for guiding the rover’s movement and is not one of the cameras that will used for science. Nonetheless, it reconfirms that Curiosity is functioning as expected.
Curiosity has landed safely on Mars.
The United States has done it again: Curiosity has landed safely on Mars. Images have already been received, with the first showing one of the rover’s wheels on the ground. NASA has posted those first images. More here.
The United States has done it again: Curiosity has landed safely on Mars. Images have already been received, with the first showing one of the rover’s wheels on the ground. NASA has posted those first images. More here.
Jackson Browne – Fountain of sorrow – Live
Arizona — in corporation with the federal government — has now joined Utah, California and Texas in scanning and recording the license plates of cars near the Mexican border
Does this make you feel safer? Arizona — in corporation with the federal government — has now joined California and Texas in scanning and recording the license plates of all cars traveling near the Mexican border.
Does this make you feel safer? Arizona — in corporation with the federal government — has now joined California and Texas in scanning and recording the license plates of all cars traveling near the Mexican border.
The new Mars rover…
Tonight at 10:30 pm (Pacific), the new Martian rover Curiosity will hopefully touch down safely on the Martian surface to begin several years of research in the crater Gale.
What has been most amazing to me is the amount of interest in this landing by the press, especially the mainstream press. Normally these outlets don’t care that much for space exploration, a trend that began after the Apollo 11 landing in 1969 when it became trendy in liberal circles to down play space exploration so that “the money could instead be spent solving our problems here on Earth.”
Today, however, I count more than forty news articles on this upcoming landing, most of which come from mainstream sources. It seems that these outlets have finally discovered something that has been obvious from the beginning: the American public is fascinated with space exploration, and if you want to attract readers, it is better to provide coverage of what interests them rather than push a political agenda that few agree with.
Anyway, if you want to follow the landing live, go here for a full outline of options. Or go directly to NASA TV. Most of what you will see will the control room at JPL, with many engineers staring at computer screens waiting to find out if the landing was a success, about twenty minutes after it took place. This is because it will take that long for the communications signals to travel from Mars to the Earth. Essentially, Curiosity is on its own in this landing.
Ry Cooder – He’ll Have To Go – Live 1977
India’s government has okayed the launch of an unmanned probe to Mars.
The competition heats up: India’s government has okayed the launch of an unmanned probe to Mars.
The competition heats up: India’s government has okayed the launch of an unmanned probe to Mars.
A visual tour of the leftist paradise of Berkeley.
More weird than you can imagine: A surreal visual tour of the leftist paradise of Berkeley.
More weird than you can imagine: A surreal visual tour of the leftist paradise of Berkeley.
Making fire using only Ikea products
An evening pause: What to do when you don’t have matches and all that is left is the nearest Ikea store.
Attack of the Cookie Monsters.
Attack of the Cookie Monsters.
The sad part is that the author provides documentation for every single silly attack, none of which have the slightest significance in the greater scheme of our present-day problems, where we have a federal government going bankrupt and a Senate and President who routinely flout the law for political reasons.
Attack of the Cookie Monsters.
The sad part is that the author provides documentation for every single silly attack, none of which have the slightest significance in the greater scheme of our present-day problems, where we have a federal government going bankrupt and a Senate and President who routinely flout the law for political reasons.
More signs that the Voyager 1 spacecraft is about to enter interstellar space.
More signs that the Voyager 1 spacecraft is about to enter interstellar space.
For the last seven years, Voyager 1 has been exploring the outer layer of the bubble of charged particles the sun blows around itself. In one day, on July 28, data from Voyager 1’s cosmic ray instrument showed the level of high-energy cosmic rays originating from outside our solar system jumped by five percent. During the last half of that same day, the level of lower-energy particles originating from inside our solar system dropped by half. However, in three days, the levels had recovered to near their previous levels.
A third key sign is the direction of the magnetic field, and scientists are eagerly analyzing the data to see whether that has, indeed, changed direction. Scientists expect that all three of these signs will have changed when Voyager 1 has crossed into interstellar space. A preliminary analysis of the latest magnetic field data is expected to be available in the next month.
Based on this report, expect scientists to announce that Voyager 1 has left the solar system sometime before the end of the year.
More signs that the Voyager 1 spacecraft is about to enter interstellar space.
For the last seven years, Voyager 1 has been exploring the outer layer of the bubble of charged particles the sun blows around itself. In one day, on July 28, data from Voyager 1’s cosmic ray instrument showed the level of high-energy cosmic rays originating from outside our solar system jumped by five percent. During the last half of that same day, the level of lower-energy particles originating from inside our solar system dropped by half. However, in three days, the levels had recovered to near their previous levels.
A third key sign is the direction of the magnetic field, and scientists are eagerly analyzing the data to see whether that has, indeed, changed direction. Scientists expect that all three of these signs will have changed when Voyager 1 has crossed into interstellar space. A preliminary analysis of the latest magnetic field data is expected to be available in the next month.
Based on this report, expect scientists to announce that Voyager 1 has left the solar system sometime before the end of the year.
Have astronomers found a future supernova?
A press release from the Carnegie Institute today described a recent paper by astronomers that might have identified a star in the Milky Way that might go supernova sometime in the future. The star QU Carinae, is a cataclysmic variable, a binary system in which material dumped from one star onto another periodically causes an outburst of X-rays.
I emailed Stella Kafka, the lead scientist of the research paper, to find out how far away QU Carinae is and how soon it might go supernova. She responded as follows:
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Archeologists are disputing the age of a jawbone found in a cave in England.
The uncertainty of science: Archeologists are disputing the age of a jawbone found in a cave in England.
Both sides of the debate agree that there is a lot riding on the outcome. “What is at stake is the entire [prehistory] of Neandertals and early modern humans in Europe,” Pettitt says. Apart from the Kents Cavern fossil and some 43,000- to 45,000-year-old teeth from Italy whose status as modern human or Neandertal is currently also debated, the oldest undisputed human fossils in Europe are about only 40,000 years old and come from a site in Romania. If modern humans really made it all the way to northwest Europe by 41,500 years ago or even earlier, it would mean that they entered Europe much earlier than once thought and also spread across the continent very rapidly. It would also increase the overlap between modern humans and the Neandertals, who already lived in Europe, and who went extinct sometime between 40,000 and 35,000 years ago. What’s more, such an overlap could make it more likely that Neandertals, who made sophisticated ornaments and tools in their last years, copied these techniques from modern humans rather than inventing them on their own.
The uncertainty of science: Archeologists are disputing the age of a jawbone found in a cave in England.
Both sides of the debate agree that there is a lot riding on the outcome. “What is at stake is the entire [prehistory] of Neandertals and early modern humans in Europe,” Pettitt says. Apart from the Kents Cavern fossil and some 43,000- to 45,000-year-old teeth from Italy whose status as modern human or Neandertal is currently also debated, the oldest undisputed human fossils in Europe are about only 40,000 years old and come from a site in Romania. If modern humans really made it all the way to northwest Europe by 41,500 years ago or even earlier, it would mean that they entered Europe much earlier than once thought and also spread across the continent very rapidly. It would also increase the overlap between modern humans and the Neandertals, who already lived in Europe, and who went extinct sometime between 40,000 and 35,000 years ago. What’s more, such an overlap could make it more likely that Neandertals, who made sophisticated ornaments and tools in their last years, copied these techniques from modern humans rather than inventing them on their own.
Launching a beer can into space.
Launching a beer can into space. With video! More here.
Launching a beer can into space. With video! More here.